Wrench



A. G. H. ANDREE WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.I3, 1920.

1,377,178. l Patented May 10, 1921.

vUNIFIED s'm'rlas PATENT .Ol='Fl(.`.li'..-

ARTHUR c. II. ANDBE, or om: PARK, ILLINOIS, AssIGNon To MAX I, ANDREE 0F 04K rmx, ILLINOIS.

WRENCH.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May io, 192i.

Application filed August 13, 1920. VSerial No. 403,232.

To all lwhom it may concern.'

clear, and exact description thereof, referl ence being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters o reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. y j

This invention relates to improvements in wrenches, and refers more particularly to an adjustable wrench that is adapted to engage over and turn objects of diierent diameters, and refers also to an improved wrench that may be adjusted to right and left hand work. The wrench is herein shown as adapted to heads and nuts of bolts, and the wrench has been designed more particularly with reference to use as a' plumbers wrench. The wrench, however, may be used for other work, as, for instance, for engaging and holding or turning pipes and other like obects. l Thepurpose of the invention is to provide an exceedingly simple wrench of this chars. acter, the jaw of which is so connectedto the shank that, without special adjustment, the wrench may be adapted to objects of different diameters and adapted to grasp and hold equally well objects varying considerably in diameter and also to rovide a wrench of this character in whic the jaw can be readily removed from the shank, so

as to convert the device from a right hand to a left hand wrench.

Another object of the invention is to provide an exceedingly simple construction of the parts ofthe wrench for effecting these results. j

A Afurther object of the invention is to provide a wrench, the construction of which is such as to adapt it to. work in closequarters for engaging a nut, the head of a bolt, or the like.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement ofthe parts shown in the drawings and described in the specification, and is pointed out in the appended claims.

from the hand bar 11 with a head 12 enlarged beyond the diameter of the shank. Extending laterally from one side of said Ahead 12 are. two lugs or ears 13. At the side of the head on which said lugs or ears are formed, the head is flattened as shown at 14. -0n the side of the` head 12 remote from the flattened portion 14 are formed holding teeth 15, 16, the teeth being arranged' in two groups or sets, one at each side of the axial plane of the shank 10 and separated by al plain portion 17 thata is diametrically opposed to the ,flattened portion 14.

18 designates a jaw that is adapted to be hinged to the lugs or ears 13. `Said jaw is formed at one end with spaced lugs 19, 19, which are adapted to fit in overlapping relat1on to the lugs 13 of the head and said overlappedlugs'are adapted to be hinged together. by a hinge bolt 20, said hinge bolt extending inwardly beyond the lugs or ears 13 and through a guide lug 22 that extends downvardly from the shank 10 on the same sideas the hinge lugs 13. A spiral expansion spring 23, which surrounds said hinge bolt 2() and is interposed between the lug 22 and a collar 24, that is xed in any suitable manner to theJ hinge bolt, serves normally to hold the pivot end of the bolt in its outermost position or in os'ition to extend through the apertures o the ears or lugs of the head 12 and the jaw 18,` whereby the jaw is hingedly connected to the head. The bolt is provided at its inner end with a linger -'from the head. The -jaw is provided at ,its

outer or free end with a curved portion 26, the inner face of which is formed with a series of transverse holding teeth 27 that are disposed transversely with respect to the terminal end of the jaw but are parallel to the holding teeth 15, 16 of the head. The

hinged portion 26 of the jaw is so arranged or is eccentric to the axis of the head, it will be observed that the hinged end of the aw as it swings toward and away from and adjacent set of teeth 15, 16 on the head is adapted to vary the distance between the teeth on the jaw and the adjacentteeth on the head, so as to thereby adapt the wrench to nuts or other objects of different` diameters.

In the use of the wrench, after the wrench has been engaged with the nut no r other object to be turned or held, the holdin parts of the wrench; that is, the teeth on t e jaw and head are forced into holding en agement with said object by turning the s ank about the axis of the hinge bolt 20 or in a direction that will swing the teeth of the head adjacent to the holding teeth of the jaw toward the latter teeth and thereby firmly grip the nut or other object to be held or turned. In this way the wrench is capable of being adapted t0 nuts or other obj ectswhich vary considerable in diameter, and the arrangement is such that whatever be the diameter of the nut or other object within the range of the wrench, it will be grasped rmly by reason of the eccentric movement of the head relatively to the holdinteeth of the jaw.

y a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3, it will be observed that the wrench may be varied from a right to a left hand wrench by merely withdrawing the hinge bolt, releasing the jaw, and then turning the jaw horizontally over and rengaging the overlapping lugs of the jaw and head, to be afterward hingedly connected together when the hinge bolt is, b. its springs, forced through the apertures o the said lugs.

It will furthermore be observed that the wrench will operate equally Well on nuts and other objects to be turned when adjusted either as a right or left hand wrench.

I claim as my invention:

l. A wrench comprising a member capable of manual rotation and having a gripping surfaces eccentric to its longitudinal axis, and a jaw hinged to said member on an axis parallel, and eccentric to the axis of said member, and having a gripping surface coperating with the gripping surface of said member.

2. A wrench comprising an elongated member capa-ble of manual rotation about its longitudinal axis and having at one side of its axis a gripping surface, and a jaw hinged to said member on its side remote from said gripping surface and adapted t 0 swing about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said member, said jaw being inwardly curved at its outer end and having on the inner curved face of the jaw a gripping surface adapted to coperate with the gripping'surface of said member.

3. A wrench comprising a member provided with gripping surfaces, angularly spaced relatively to the axis of said member, a jaw hinged at one end to said member and curved at itsother end, and provided at the inner side of said other end with a gripping surface to separately coperate with the sai'd gripping surfaces of said member, and

means to detachably hinge the jaw to said member whereby said jaw may be reversed to enable the Wrench to serve as a right or left hand wrench.

a. A wrench comprising a shank provided at one end with a hand piece, and at its other end with a head formed with a gripping surface, eccentric to the longitudinal axis of said shank and a'ja-W hinged at one end to said head to swing in a plane transverse to said axis and curved at its other or outer end and formed on the inner face of its curved end with a gripping surface.

5. A'wrench comprising a shank provided at one end with a hand piece and at its other end with a head formed on one side of its axis with laterally spaced gripping surfaces, a jaw hinged at one end to the other side of said head, and curved at its outer end and formed on the inner face of "its outer end with a gripping surface, and

means to effect detachment of said jaw at its hinge to enable it to be turned relatively to the shank to thereby produce a right or left hand wrench at will.

6. A Wrench comprisin a shank formed at one end and at one si e of its axis with angularly spaced gripping surfaces, and formed at the other side of its axis with an apertured hinge lug, a jaw having an apertured hin e lug to overlap the said first lug, and ormed with a curved outer end having an inner grippingface and a hinge bolt guided on said shank and piercing said lu for hinging the jaw to the shank.

A wrench comprisin a shank formed at one end and at one si e of its axis with angularly spaced gripping surfaces, and formed at the other side of its axis with an apertured hinge lug, a jaw having an apertured hinge lug to overlap the said first lug, and formed with a curved outer end having an inner gripping face, and spring means to normally hold said bolt engaged with the ble of reversal thereon, and provided with a 10 apertures of said lugs While permitting the curved gripping portion adapted to interbolt to be Withdrawn therefrom. ehangeably eoperate with the right and left 8. A wrench comprising a member capahand gripping surfaces of said member. ble of rotation, and provided on one side In witness whereof I claim the foregoing of its longitudinal axis with right and left as my invention, I hereunto append my Sig- 15 hand gripping/surfaces, and a jaw detachnature this 31st day of July, 1920. I' ably hinged to said member on its side re- Amote from said gripping surface and capa- ARTHUR G. H. ANDRE. f 

